Warriors: White Moon
by Spectura
Summary: After a harsh storm separated them from their home clan, Dustpaw and Patchkit of Moonclan must find their way home, or possibly make a new one in the mountains. With an unfinished training under her paws and a growing sibling to care for, Dustpaw must learn to survive, or she may not be the only one to pay the price...
1. Character List

Main Characters:

Dustpaw - A silvery grey she-cat with blue eyes- 7 Moons old

Patchkit - A white tom-kit with orange and red patches, green eyes - 4 Moons old

?

Side Characters:

?

Briefly Mentioned:

Shadestar - Black tom with amber eyes, leader of Moonclan - 58 Moons old

Bluepaw - Dark grey tom with green eyes - 7 Moons old

Ranks to Know:

Frostwatchers - Usually a group of Elders or older Warriors who are no longer fit for battle. They can hunt, but mainly they read the clouds to predict when the weather may turn harsh.

Tunnelers - This is a temporary rank made up of warriors with thick pads and large claws, they dig tunnels to shelter the clan during times of severe weather.

Runners - This is a temporary rank made up of cats with long legs and large pools of stamina. When a large predator is seen too close to camp, Runners are responsible for leading it away, sometimes at the cost of their own lives.


	2. Chapter 1, Lost

**This is just a practice story, it's not my main title. White Moon is just helping me get some muse going to continue on my other more popular titles. Reviews are appreciated.**

Of all the things Dustpaw wanted to do today, it wasn't to go out in the knee-deep snow and find her wandering kit-brother. She didn't want to be out in winds harsh enough to turn back both her mentor and a veteran warrior she'd been searching with. She didn't want to be shouting his name only to hear the words fall away behind her like dying leaves. Leaves, oh how she missed Green-Leaf. Her kit-brother had always been a tad wild. He'd bad-mouthed Shadestar once, and felt no shame in it.

Dustpaw tripped in the deepening snow, the cold powder on her face shocking her out of her thoughts.

"Patchkit!" She howled, but it seemed as though the wind was trying to drown her out. _"_ _Paaatchhkiiitt!"_

"Mama!" she heard his voice, barely above the screaming winds of the blizzard. "Dustpaw! Bluepaw! Anybody!?" he sounded scared, which was unusual for the ferocious scrap of fur.

"Patchkit! I'm here! Where are you?!" the blue/grey she-cat called back, stumbling to a halt in the deepening snow. She didn't get a verbal response, but she did hear him moving through the snow somewhere to her left.

At least, she hoped it was him. All their yelling could have attracted unwanted attention, like a wolf, or a fox, or a raccoon, or- She cut off that train of thought. No reasonable creature, hungry predator or not, would be out in this weather. "Dustpaw?" Patchkit whimpered out, his frost-encrusted form appearing out of the haze next to her. She almost couldn't see the orange and red patches that gave him his name. He almost seemed to be made of snow, snow and dull green eyes.

"Patchkit, thank Starclan I've found you finally! Why on earth did you wander off in the first place? The Frostwatchers said there would be bad weather!" she snapped, not expecting an answer from the frozen kitten. Without a beat, she began licking the ice off his eyes and face, as well as inspecting him for wounds.

Other than being extremely cold, he seemed to be in good shape.

"I-I wanna… go h-home." Patchkit sniffled, starting to cry. "I'm so cold… I can't f-feel my toes..."

The elder of the two siblings nodded, "We're gonna go home, come on." she turned and nudged him forward, "Start moving."

He took a single fumbled step, before asking, "Can y-you carry me?"

"I can't, I'm sorry Patchkit. Momma could if she were here, but I'm not as big as her. You'll have to walk on your own."

"O-okay." the kit sniffled again, and kept moving. Dustpaw took one last glance around before setting off as well, using her body to guard his from the blizzard.

-x-x-

"I don't think we're going the right way." Patchkit summed up as the pair stared out at the frozen lake. There were no frozen lakes in Moonclan territory, meaning that Patchkit's less than helpful comment was frustratingly correct. Hissing as the ice gave way beneath the weight of a paw, Dustpaw growled.

"There's no way we're crossing this, we need to go back and see if we can find the border." The silvery cat turned around and began walking as Patchkit bounded after her.

Dawn had come, and with it the blizzard ceased. Now, snowflakes drifted ponderously to the ground and the wind had all but died.

"I'm hungry." Patchkit whined, batting at her tail as he followed her. Dustpaw curled her lip and raised her tail so he couldn't reach it.

"You'll be fine." she grumbled. Patchkit's stomach loudly disagreed, rumbling in such a way that made Dustpaw turn to look at him with a frustrated glare. "C'mon." The kit scampered happily behind her, fluffy tail held high. Dustpaw led him to a pine with low-hanging branches, pulling one aside with her paw. "Hide in here, I'll come back when I find some prey."

The kit frowned at her, "You won't lose me like you lost the camp, right?" his voice oozed innocence, but Dustpaw knew there was a hint of mockery underneath his sweet tone.

"Patchkit." that one word held a sharp enough tone to silence him, and he hurried into the shelter she'd found. As Dustpaw turned to leave, she could feel his little green eyes watch her.

-x-x-

 _Starclan… What do I do? I'm lost, and Patchkit won't survive out here forever, there's only so much I can do. I need help._

To her left, she heard a caw. There was a crow nearby. The large black bird was probably to big for her, but she needed to get _something,_ and so far, all the prey she could hunt was hiding in their nests. She'd found a Winterbeetle earlier, and it had escaped her. She'd dug into the snow trying to find it, but her instinct demanded she abandon the hunt. To much wasted time and energy.

Turning back to the crow, she crouched behind some frost-encrusted sage. It was perched on some carrion, a dead deer by the looks of it. It's glassy eyes were wide.

" _Bluepaw, Dustpaw, tell my why you should avoid crow-food that died with wide eyes?" Shadestar asked, licking his chest._

" _Because that prey was scared when it died?" Bluepaw offered, glancing at his sister._

" _Yes."_

 **Caw! Caw!** The crow called, flying off as a large canine walked slowly into the clearing, followed by another, and another…

Wolves.


End file.
